The permanent exhibition

The permanent exhibition
at the South Tyrol Museum
of Archaeology
in Bolzano, Italy

An exhibition dedicated to Ötzi the Iceman: a mummy from the Copper Age, 5300 years old, together with his clothing and equipment.

The permanent exhibition at the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology is dedicated entirely to Ötzi, the Iceman. It is housed on three floors of the Museum and displays everything of interest about the world’s most famous glacier mummy. The exhibition covers the circumstances surrounding Ötzi’s accidental discovery on 19 September 1991, the international media response, the original finds themselves (the mummy together with his clothing and equipment), daily life in the Copper Age and multidisciplinary research carried out on the find of the century. A highlight of the exhibition is the life-like reconstruction of the Iceman, which vividly portrays how the Iceman may have looked during his lifetime.

Ground floor

Story behind the discovery, media response

When the Iceman was discovered in 1991 and turned out to be a well-preserved relic of the late Stone Age, he rapidly became the focus of world media limelight. Browse through the quirky cream of national and international media reporting and see how Ötzi turned into a media star overnight.

1st floor

Original finds (mummy, clothing, equipment)

Over 5,300 years deep-frozen in ice and snow have preserved not only Ötzi’s body, but his accoutrements and clothing as well. The original finds provide revealing insights into a human being’s day-to-day life at the end of the late Stone Age. You can view the Iceman through a window in his refrigerated cell in a separate area.

2nd floor

Who was the Iceman? How did he live? What was he up to in the mountains? From what diseases did he suffer? And, first and foremost, what caused his death? In over 20 years’ research, more than 500 researchers have worked on Ötzi, his clothing and his accoutrements and profiled him in increasing detail.